51 B3B build thread - after all these years

[Dave72dt]

It "looks" like you may have room to move the L brackets down that 1/4".  Possibly moving the fastening on the L brackets would get you where you need to be without slotting thew holes in the stake pocket.

[bkahler]

5 minutes ago, Dave72dt said:

It "looks" like you may have room to move the L brackets down that 1/4".  Possibly moving the fastening on the L brackets would get you where you need to be without slotting thew holes in the stake pocket.

 

Interesting thought.  Currently the L brackets have individual nuts spot welded in place.  Easy enough to remove.  I like the idea of using a metal strip with holes drilled and tapped and then welded onto the L brackets, after enlarging the holes in the L bracket.  That would make it quick and easy to get the tapped holes in the right locations. 

 

Definitely something to think about.

 

Thanks!

[Los_Control]

Yeah it seems you have some more adjustment to make there.

Looking at mine, there is no gap and the stake pocket is lower then the rear plate about the thickness of the metal.

 

 

same with the other side, no gap and pocket hangs lower just a bit.

 

If you need more let me know .... I think this is what you want .... explains the difference in how the wood fits.

[JBNeal]

I went out and compared tailgate chain hooks that appeared undamaged, and I found that the '48 1/2T, '49 1T, early '51 1/2T, and '53 1/2T long bed had all different hooks, from hook profile to lengths to end finish to chain loop diameters...so I reckon Dodge used whatever they could get.

 

As for that bed sill plate, I got right at 3/4"  from sill top to under that bed angle edge on the '48 1/2T, '48 1T, '49 1T, and '51 1/2T. This placed the top of the shovel strips about 1/4" proud of the open tailgate.  So maybe the outside of the sill plate might not line up with the stake pockets if'n ya wanted to get the bed boards installed neatly.

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, JBNeal said:

I went out and compared tailgate chain hooks that appeared undamaged, and I found that the '48 1/2T, '49 1T, early '51 1/2T, and '53 1/2T long bed had all different hooks, from hook profile to lengths to end finish to chain loop diameters...so I reckon Dodge used whatever they could get.

 

Sounds like a typical purchasing department! 

 

1 hour ago, JBNeal said:

As for that bed sill plate, I got right at 3/4"  from sill top to under that bed angle edge on the '48 1/2T, '48 1T, '49 1T, and '51 1/2T. This placed the top of the shovel strips about 1/4" proud of the open tailgate.  So maybe the outside of the sill plate might not line up with the stake pockets if'n ya wanted to get the bed boards installed neatly.

 

I hadn't considered the height of the shovel strips. I'll have to do some measuring tomorrow morning to see what that dimension does to the mix.  

 

Thanks for the tip.

[bkahler]

Ok, this morning I checked out the plank / tailgate relationship as it currently sits.  The a 3/4" plank sitting on top of the cross piece places the plank about 1/16" above the tailgate which means the shovel strip will be about 5/16" above the tailgate.  This pretty much matches with what JB described on his trucks.  Which means I'm still faced with my original dilemma, I either rabbit the ends of the planks or relocate the mounting holes via grinding the holes or relocating the nuts on the L brackets.  Looks like we've come full circle

 

Modifying hole location method:

1 - currently the plank sitting on top of the cross piece is 1/16" higher than tailgate and the shovel strips are 5/16" above the tailgate

2 - if I do nothing but lower all mounting holes 1/4" the plank will still be 1/16" higher than the tailgate

3 - this would put the shovel strips 1/4" to 5/16" above the tailgate

4 - there are two ways to accomplish this, slot the mounting holes on the stake pockets or relocate the nuts on the L brackets.  Slotting the holes would take about 1/2  hour, relocating the nuts will take a lot longer and require more painting

 

Rabbit method:

1 - if I rabbit the ends of the planks so they fit in the current 1/2" gap between cross piece and shovel strip then the shovel strips will be 1/4" to 5/16" above the tailgate

2 - this is a fast an easy change

 

One part of me just says rabbit the planks and move on.  Another part of me says just slot the holes and move on, yet still another part says relocate the nuts.

 

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm somewhat conflicted on which method I should use 😂. 

 

I'm going to spend some more time today looking things over and try to make a decision. 

 

 

 

[Merle Coggins]

I would rabbit the bottom of the planks. It would be the easier option and nobody would know the difference. 

[Dave72dt]

If you laid a straight edge front to rear across all the bed cross members, where does the end channel lay in relation to those? Above or even with?

[bkahler]

22 minutes ago, Dave72dt said:

If you laid a straight edge front to rear across all the bed cross members, where does the end channel lay in relation to those? Above or even with?

 

Without the wood planks being in place there is no way to check that.  The bed cross members sit on the truck frame and  the wood planks sit on the cross members.  The rear cross member I'm dealing with doesn't touch the truck frame so it just rests against the bottom of the wood planks.  In my case I can't get the planks installed due to the rear cross member being to close to the shovel strips.  Pretty much all the rear cross member does is support the end of the planks and in conjunction with the L brackets locates the tailgate.  In my case the L brackets locate the tailgate hinges in the correct location to match the 1/4" dimension that JB indicated for open tailgate to top of shovel strips. 

 

I guess when you put a mix of reproduction parts with side panels from one truck and a tailgate from another truck things aren't going to match up exactly the way they should, at least not without some fiddling around

 

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, Merle Coggins said:

I would rabbit the bottom of the planks. It would be the easier option and nobody would know the difference. 

 

I haven't discarded that idea just yet.  I thought I had some plate stock for making the nut plate, but for some reason I haven't been able to lay my hands on it yet. 

[JBNeal]

If'n ya loosened the bolts on those L-brackets and rabbit the planks 1/16", could the planks be knocked into place?  The bed sheet metal rests on those outer planks so I'd not want to remove too much material...I kinda figured them angle strips could flex a little, maybe even the sill plate a tad, and with that tight fit of plank between sill and angle strip, the L-bracket could be tightened back to complete that part of assembly. 

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, JBNeal said:

If'n ya loosened the bolts on those L-brackets and rabbit the planks 1/16", could the planks be knocked into place?  The bed sheet metal rests on those outer planks so I'd not want to remove too much material...I kinda figured them angle strips could flex a little, maybe even the sill plate a tad, and with that tight fit of plank between sill and angle strip, the L-bracket could be tightened back to complete that part of assembly. 

 

The holes in the stake pocket for the L brackets are a really close tolerance fit.  There is no movement in the L bracket once all of the bolts are started (but not tight). 

 

I spent most of the afternoon looking at various areas of the bed and the shovel rails that are spot welded to the bed sides.  What I found is there was more downward angle on the shovel strips that I original thought (possibly from handling over the last few months).  After some tweaking with a large adjustable wrench and some blocks of wood I managed to get the shovel strips straightened.  Once that was complete I found that by rabbiting the end of the plank 1/16" provided just enough clearance that I could get the planks to slide under the shovel strips.  The most likely explanation for the problem was my installation of the shovel strips.  The bed sides aren't 100% flat which contributed to the issues with the strips.  Bottom line is the truck is going to be a 10' looker, just don't get any closer 😄

 

I'm now at the point where I need to rabbit three more planks and then rip the center boards to the correct width.  After that I'll be painting for a while.  Both the planks and the four frame cross members need to be painted.  I'm hoping to have the box completed by January 10th

 

 

 

 

[bkahler]

Planks are set in place to verify fitment.  I'm happy with the results so this afternoon will be spent painting the planks and trying to cleanup the huge mess that I've made in the shop lately.  It looks like it will be couple of days for painting them so not much will be happening for the next few days.

 

Quick question, what diameter should I drill the holes in the two outer planks?  I'm thinking 3/8" but would like to verify.

 

 

[JBNeal]

grey beard documented his approach...this might or might not help:

 

https://p15-d24.com/topic/3497-pilothouse-pickup-bed-reflooring/#findComment-424809

[Los_Control]

7 hours ago, bkahler said:

Quick question, what diameter should I drill the holes in the two outer planks?  I'm thinking 3/8" but would like to verify.

 

The larger holes have larger washers .... thing to remember is to make them larger then the bolts for expansion/contraction .... just like the gap the shovel strips hide.

 

Long story short .... I have no idea ..... how big are the bolts you are installing?

[ggdad1951]

I think 3/8" would be fine, but looks like on mine I went about 1/2" (it's been a day since).